August 11, 2008

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Aug. 8, 2008) - High Desert Gold Corporation ("HDG" or the "Company")(TSX:HDG)(TSX:HDG.WT) has awarded a drill contract to begin drilling on its Bluebird copper-silver property in western Montana. The 850 metre drilling program is scheduled to start in late August and is designed to test the continuity of the copper and silver mineralization which has been previously identified by drilling.

The Bluebird copper-silver project is located in Granite County, Montana approximately 25 miles south of Phillipsburg and 30 miles west of Anaconda. The property is a Spar Lake type target with the HDG property position covering a stratabound, primary copper-silver occurrence within the Bonner Formation of the Belt Supergroup. HDG controls 98 federal lode claims through staking and a lease agreement covering over 7,500 metres of strike length of the host stratigraphy.

The property was originally drilled by Anaconda Copper Company ("Anaconda") between 1979 and 1982. Partial information from this earlier drilling was obtained from the Anaconda collection files housed in Laramie, Wyoming. Reports state the results for two of the holes as: 29 metres at 0.88% Cu and 9.3 g/t Ag, including 10.4 metres at 1.68% Cu and 22.7 g/t Ag within diamond drill hole 1, and 19.8 metres at 0.34% Cu and 7.1 g/t Ag, including 6.1 meters at 0.76% Cu and 19.6 g/t Ag within diamond drill hole 2. Both of these holes were drilled in 1979 and are the only two holes for which there are complete results. The Anaconda drill results were released prior to the establishment of the National Instrument 43-101 reporting standards and may not be in compliance with the current standards, therefore may not be reliable and HDG is not relying on these results.

The host rocks are a series of sandstones which are similar to the mineralized beds within the Spar Lake deposits in western Montana. High-grade, primary mineralization consists of chalcocite within the matrix of the sandstone host rock. Secondary mineralization seen on surface consists of chrysocolla, malachite, and turquoise. Several deposits of this type are found in western Montana. They include the following: Spar Lake, Montanore and Rock Creek, all of which have reserves in the 50-100 million tonne range and copper grades in the 0.6-0.8 % range and contain up to two ounces of silver per tonne.

HDG collected 343 soil samples to geochemically define the trace of the host stratigraphy. The results of this work outline a mineralized strike length of 17,700 feet (5,400 metres) with copper values ranging up to 0.06% Cu within the soil. By accurately defining the trace of the mineralized stratigraphy the Company determined that most of the holes drilled by Anaconda would not have intersected the host unit as interpreted by HDG. This work also determined that there are areas showing significant copper values within the soils where no past drilling occurred.

This initial drilling program will consist of a total of 6 diamond drill holes which will determine if the copper-silver mineralization has continuity along strike.

The Company is a mineral exploration company that acquires and explores mineral properties, primarily gold, copper and silver, in North America. The two major properties held by HDG are the flagship Canasta Dorada gold property in Sonora, Mexico, and the Gold Lake porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum property in New Mexico.

The Qualified Person on the Gold Lake property is Randall Moore, Executive Vice President of Exploration, High Desert Gold Corporation and he has reviewed the content of this press release.

Certain statements contained herein constitute "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements look into the future and provide an opinion as to the effect of certain events and trends on the business. Forward-looking statements may include words such as "plans,""intends,""anticipates,""should,""estimates,""expects,""believes,""indicates,""targeting,""suggests,""potential,""interpretation" and similar expressions. Information concerning the interpretation of soil samples and drill results also may be considered forward-looking statements, as such information constitutes a prediction of what mineralization might be found to be present if and when a project is actually developed. These forward- looking statements are based on current expectations and entail various risks and uncertainties. Actual results may materially differ from expectations, if known and unknown risks or uncertainties affect our business, or if our estimates or assumptions prove inaccurate. In particular, the Anaconda drilling results contained herein predate National Instrument 43-101 and may not be in compliance with the current reporting standards, therefore may not be reliable and HDG is not relying on these results. Except as required by law, HDG assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or any other reason.